DD's Returned

JAMIEDODGER

you need to keep business and personal totally seperate...bank account etc.

pay the important arrears off first, i would suggest opening a basic bank account....work out your total dd's for the month and divide by 4 and each week put the money in there, gradually as the money in the account increases you can set up new direct debits for the basic account.

decide on a set amount each week for spending/grocery and with draw in cash each week. it will take a while to sort out as your old life still encroaches on your new, but you WILL get there!

i think you need to stay away from switch/debit/credit cards. spend cash...its harder to part with than handing over the plastic, best off luck dotty xxx

D&DD

Sorry to hear that Dotty..its a weird old trip when you start this moneysaving lark one minute you're on cloud nine and things are rolling then you hit a brick wall :mad: Some creditors are bu**ers to deal with..Keep at it hun you are doing so well :T
On the foodie front theres a thread on oldstyle on cheapest dinners might be of use??You'd be surprised what they make out of nothing over there....

dottyanne

JAMIEDODGER wrote:

you need to keep business and personal totally seperate...bank account etc.

pay the important arrears off first, i would suggest opening a basic bank account....work out your total dd's for the month and divide by 4 and each week put the money in there, gradually as the money in the account increases you can set up new direct debits for the basic account.

decide on a set amount each week for spending/grocery and with draw in cash each week. it will take a while to sort out as your old life still encroaches on your new, but you WILL get there!

i think you need to stay away from switch/debit/credit cards. spend cash...its harder to part with than handing over the plastic, best off luck dotty xxx

Hi Jammie - for once i am keeping everything separate - i knew it wouldnt be easy to catch up with the arrears but its soul destroying.......ive done Martins Budget and as long as i take enough out of the business (which i think it can afford) and no more then i can live within my budget - making minimum payments and have a little left over to snowball (about £50) but its a start - the only problem is that ive got so many arrears and i dont know what to do??

D&DD

Dotty I can't remember if anyone has suggested you talking to payplan or CCCS have they?

JAMIEDODGER

dotty, can you tell me again what the arrears are?

the bt thing.......if you have to be on incomming calls only then you can t spend anything there...arrange a "reasonable" payment plan with bt...and then make sure you are on option 1. its about £11 per month...and go with who ever martin suggests is the best for landline calls at the mo, or ask on the telephones board.

ring all your creditors and tell them the situation.....some will be helpful, some wont....it will take time to clear the backlog of money owed but it will all work itself out xx chin up xx

dottyanne

Well - good news today - managed to pay O2 off in full - have checked that im on the right tariff and i am, also at least i am upto date with that and can now budget for next month.

Secondly, i had a little windfall today - well a relatice gave me some money for Easter and that combined with my £2.00 savings tin money can pay off most of BT home phone, i will ring them and get this paid this week. :rolleyes:

Also, 2 DD's that didnt go through are Abbey (mortgage) 774.30, and Egg Loan 361.80, however i shoul;d be able to clear Abbey by the end of the week as I had most of it before it was returned.

Got to be really tight for the next 3 - 4 months but i WILL do it and catch up and then once i am living within my budget and extra money will go towards paying off my debts.........

Feel quite positive now but felt really c**p this morning!! :T

dottyanne

Oops forgot to add that BT are sending me a payment card, so every week i will put £10 on it so it should always cover my bill (have budgeted for this)!!!

JAMIEDODGER

excellent news dotty.......you are doing really well! stick to that budget hun!!!

dottyanne

Ta - makes me feel good in a wierd sort of way - becoming an obsessive non-spending freak!!!! lol

amosworks

It's strangely infectious 8-)